Oneshot to the Heart
by rumoredreader
Summary: This is a series of LWD oneshots, mostly Dasey pairing. Most funny, some sad and the occasional fluffy. Enjoy!
1. Tea & Soda

_This is a series of oneshots for DomiRae's LWD challenge. Some of them may be more along the line of drabbles and others closer to chapters, who knows where the inspiration will take me! Either way hope you all like them:)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own LWD!_

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**Tea & Soda**

Derek spit the dark brown liquid from his mouth across the kitchen floor. "CASEY!"

He slammed down the glass onto the counter and waited with glaring eyes as she casually turned around from her position cleaning dishes at the sink, smug smile in place. "Yes?"

"What did you put in here?" He motioned to the pitcher in front of him.

"Iced tea." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"This..." He pointed with both fingers, "This, is not iced tea."

"Maybe not the sugar coated junk you're used to, no. It's herbal, unsweetened tea with a hint of jasmine and bay leaves. I added the bay leaves in myself; I find they have a calming…" She let her voice trail into a smile as Derek had stalked off already with the whole bottle of orange soda in his hand.

Two minutes later Edwin passed Derek in the living room he was mumbling something about Casey being the She-Devil of health food between chugs of soda. He spotted Edwin walking towards the kitchen and swallowed hard sitting up in his chair. "Hey, uh Ed make sure you try the ice tea on the counter… it's really good."

Edwin looked disbelievingly for a minute before shrugging it off. "Thanks Der, I will."

"No problem." Derek leaned back into his chair a smile as smug as the one Casey had given him surfacing.


	2. Roses, Chocolate, Notes and Smiles

_Disclaimer: I do not own LWD or any of its characters._

_Crazy life leads to slow updates... what can I say? I wrote this as just chocolate and roses, and then realized I covered many more bases! Hope you enjoy:)_

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**Roses, Chocolate, Notes and Smiles**

Casey was exhausted. Cardio boot camp had been the distraction she had hoped for. She hadn't thought about how she would feel after though. So here she was, barely making it up the final stair to her 6th floor apartment, cursing the broken elevator. And the worst part was that even with her body shutting down her mind was wired again. Thoughts of him, them, their too familiar "situation" poured through her mind as she blindly unlocked the door.

Her concentration broke though when she saw a figure slouched over the couch. She gasped._ Had he really come all the way to Queens to convince her once again that something wasn't what it looked like?_

"Truman?"

The sleeping figure jumped in a surprised manor as if Casey were interrupting. "Shhh… sleeping."

"Oh, its you." Casey said annoyed as she flipped on the lights.

Derek responded by throwing something onto the floor and turning into the couch, attempting to fall back asleep.

Casey walked over to the discarded roses and box of chocolates below the couch. Bending over she picked up the wilted roses and found the candy box empty. "What is this?"

Derek groaned. "It was here at the door when I got here. Now enough questions… I don't feel so good." He left out the part about the person with them when he got here, or how he had sent him away for what he hoped was the last time.

Casey threw the empty box at his head. "Serves you right, and how did you get in?"

Derek ignored her, pretending to snore.

"Was there a note?" She questioned more to herself than to the not really sleeping lump on her couch.

Sure enough there was a note from Truman placed across the room on the kitchen counter.

'_Casey,_

_I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I promise it'll never happen again. Please call me._

_Love Truman'_

Casey shook her head at his words she had heard too many times before, glancing down at the note written directly below Truman's in messy scribbles that could only belong to one person.

'_I've heard that one before- the guy's almost as bad of a liar as you are. I gotta admit though, he's got good taste in chocolate.'_

Casey couldn't help the small smile and eye roll as she read Derek's message. She knew in his own way, he was trying to help her.

When she looked over her shoulder to the couch Derek was turned to her, and his eyes quickly shuttered closed, a blank look overtaking his face.

"Just so you know I have class at 8am tomorrow, so be prepared to be woken up and kicked out early." She said grabbing her things and heading to her bedroom.

There was an irritated grunt in response from the couch, but as Casey took one last look at him before closing her door, she saw the smile under his closed eyes. And with a smile she didn't even notice was there, she went to her bed without a thought of Truman on her mind.

Casey still wasn't quite sure why Derek was there, but for once she was grateful.


	3. Midnight, Hearts and Music

_Disclaimer: I do not own LWD or any of its characters._

_Hey guys this oneshot is inspired by The Airborne Toxic Event's 'Sometime Around Midnight'._

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**Midnight, Hearts and Music**

_And it starts, sometime around midnight.  
Or at least that's when you lose yourself  
for a minute or two.  
As you stand, under the bar lights.  
And the band plays some song  
about forgetting yourself for a while.  
And the piano's this melancholy soundtrack to her smile.__  
And that white dress she's wearing  
you haven't seen her for a while._

This, this was not Derek Venturi's scene. Not that he was out of place, because somehow he always managed to blend, but that didn't mean he felt comfortable. The friends that had dragged him to this hip trendy wine bar on the other hand, seemed to be nothing but enjoying the overdressed schmoozing going on all around him.

On the stage a surprisingly decent band played along with a grand piano. Derek leaned up against the bar, finding himself under the glow of the bar lights, listening and drinking his expensive wine.

His friends were chatting up a small group of girls to his left, and Derek looked down to his watch ignoring the odd girl out who was eyeing him.

It was almost midnight; they had been there for almost two hours, and he was beyond bored, and bordering on drunk. This was not his thing, and these girls were certainly not his type.

He ordered himself another wine, knowing he probably should stop, but not caring. And when he turned around to face the crowd again it happened. Across the room a girl in a beautiful white dress stepped into the light, smiling as if in time to the music from the piano. Time itself had stopped for a minute as the words being sung hung in his head, telling him to forget himself. And Derek thought he was going to be sick.

_But you know, that she's watching.  
She's laughing, she's turning.  
She's holding her tonic like a cross.  
The room's suddenly spinning.  
She walks up and asks how you are.  
So you can smell her perfume.  
You can see her lying naked in your arms._

She spotted him, and he swears her smile grows a bit wider as she turns and laughs at something someone says. He can't turn away from the show he knows she's putting on for him across that room, swaying to the music while holding up a clear glass.

Then in a dramatic gesture so like her she motions to someone and breaks from her group, and this time she makes no mistake in locking her eyes on his as she crosses the room. Now Derek is sure the ground is going to fall out below him, or throw up. Before he can decide while should happen first she's speaking to him.

It takes a minute for his mind to catch up to the automatic answer he's giving her that he's fine, because he's on sensory overload. Being this close to her is so dangerous, so cruel. Memory didn't hold her right, and he was busy catching up on everything, making it right. The way she smells like a foreign flower, the hint of her body below the sleek white dress.

_And so there's a change, in your emotions.  
And all these memories come rushing  
like feral waves to your mind.  
Of the curl of your bodies,  
like two perfect circles entwined.  
And you feel hopeless and homeless  
and lost in the haze of the wine_.

He hopes his face isn't betraying him the way his mind is, as he stares at her, not sure what to say. He's fighting off the memories that are bursting through his mind like a movie on fast forward. Things he shouldn't be remembering, forbidden things that should never have happened in the first place, that he would give anything to do again.

She's looking at him in the most horrible way, and Derek misses her more then than he's ever missed anything, even though she's standing right in front of him. His lips part to tell her, and he suddenly wonders how drunk he really is, and where all those finely tuned words of his have gone.

He finds a slight satisfaction in her silent stare, knowing he isn't the only one. Then the satisfaction is gone as quick as it appeared as she motions to the other side of the room and she makes some scattered comment about it being good to see him and going.

_Then she leaves, with someone you don't know.  
But she makes sure you saw her.  
She looks right at you and bolts.  
As she walks out the door,  
your blood boiling  
your stomach in ropes.  
Oh and when your friends say,  
"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."_

He's frozen as he watches her walk to the other side of the room, not caring that he's staring. And then he sees the other guy, sees her smile as she wraps her arm through his and leads him to the door. It seems showy, and he can tell she knows he's watching. He doesn't know the plain blonde man beside her, but he knows he hates him and that his heart is tearing into shreds.

She takes a final look over her shoulder, and meets his gaze. There is something there, something unguarded she's trying to convey to him. Before he can figure it out, she smiles wickedly and leaves.

Derek isn't sick any longer, he's furious instead, with whatever game she's getting at, because it has to be a game. He knows that smile, knows she's provoking him to do something.

His friends are there again, ridiculous girls in tow, saying their leaving. Derek ignores them, and one leans in asking if he's okay, saying he looks like he's seen a ghost. He can't answer; he's barely heard the question as he's heading for the door.

_Then you walk, under the streetlights.  
And you're too drunk to notice,  
that everyone is staring at you.  
You just don't care what you look like,  
the world is falling around you._

In the open air of the night, he's stumbling down the street at the fastest pace his unsteady feet will carry him. Each time he passes below another streetlight someone else is staring at his wavering, but he doesn't care.

Derek has other things that he cares too much about, like seeing her. He has to see her, suddenly he knows now he can't live without seeing her. Doesn't understand how he has for almost a year now. How he told her he could, how he thought anything else mattered, how he ruined it, how he was so freaking stupid.

_You just have to see her.  
You just have to see her.  
You just have to see her.  
You just have to see her.  
You just have to see her.  
You know that she'll break you in two._

When she flings open the door to her apartment it's clear from the empty studio behind her that she's alone, and he's never been more thankful for anything than he is of that. She doesn't look surprised, and suddenly he's wondering if any of this is real as he leans against the doorframe for support.

"Derek." Her smile is wicked, but he can tell her voice is wavering. He looses any grip he has at that and he drops to his knees in a way he once swore to her he never would, bowing his head and he says her name. It comes out in a pleading whisper, heavy with a year's worth of regret. "Casey."

As her she kneels before him and lifts his head, her smile is completely gone now. He can see clearly now her show is over, and in her eyes that she's as miserable as he is. He can't help the smirk that lights his face, and before either of them knows who leaned in first they're crawling, pushing into her apartment and slamming the door shut.


	4. Cell Phones, Facebook & Stickers

Disclaimer: I do not own LWD!

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**Cell Phones, Facebook & Stickers**

"Der-ek!" Casey yelled up the stairs, hands balled up in fists by her side. _I'm going to really kill him this time. _She thought.

Derek smirked upstairs. _Right on schedule, _he thought looking at the clock as he passed into the hallway.

"Derek get down here right-" Casey stopped mid yell as Derek appeared at the landing, confused look in place.

"What's your problem now?" He asked leaning against the banister, just out of her reach.

"You're always my problem." Casey gritted her teeth and took a step up the first stair to the landing.

Derek snickered at that.

"I don't have time for your childish games right now, where is my cell phone?" She took one more step towards him, glaring directly into his eyes. _Don't mess with me Derek._

Derek shrugged and carelessly looked around the empty living room. "I don't know. Why do you need it anyways? It's not like anymore important ever calls you."

She poked a finger hard at his chest, backing him to the wall. "What did you do with it?"

Derek grabbed her shoulders and turned her around on the post. "Maybe you should open your eyes before going around falsely accusing innocent people."

Sure enough sitting on dead center on the coffee table was Casey's cell phone. She spun and stared him down. "That wasn't there a minute ago."

Before she could argue any further the doorbell rang, cueing her date was there. With one final warning glance to him she ran and grabbed the phone off the table. "If you did anything to my phone-"

"Relax, I have much better things to be doing on a Saturday night than to be playing with your cell phone." His smirk told otherwise, but she had already missed that.

_Let the games begin. _Derek thought as the door closed and he headed back up to his room to meet up with Edwin and continue their plans for the night.

…

Casey was nervously fidgeting with her purse as she waited for Brandon to park the car. She had never had a guy bring her to a fancy restaurant on a first date before, let alone a guy she liked this much.

Brandon walked up to the entrance and gave Casey a confident smile; she did her best to reciprocate. "You ready beautiful?"

Casey's felt her face flush at his easy compliment. "Absolutely."

"Great, than shall we?" He held open the door and with a flourish motioned her in.

She couldn't help but giggle as she thought to herself; _I guess chivalry isn't dead after all. _

…

"Say Derek, not that I'm not always up for a good prank, but I thought you liked Brandon." Edwin said cautiously looking up at Derek from his place on the bed.

"That's just it. I like him, so I'm saving him from dating Casey." _And there is no way I'm letting Casey date him._

"Uh-huh." Edwin still was staring at him in a way that made Derek uncomfortable, so Derek grabbed the phone out of his younger brother's hand and shoved him backwards flat onto the bed.

"Ed, enough with the small talk. Why don't you watch and learn." With that he picked up the first phone of the desk in front of him and began dialing.

…

Casey and her date had sat down in the quiet dimly lit dinning room. Brandon had ordered for Casey, and to her surprise without her consent. She was in the middle of contemplating whether flattered or upset by the gesture when a loud ringtone began. Everyone within hearing of the song began to chuckle.

"When I get that feeling, I need sexual healing. Sexual healing…"

Casey and Brandon shared an awkward smile as they like everyone else looked around to who the tone belonged to. Then to Casey's horror she realized it was coming from the bag behind her chair, right about the same time her date did.

"Do you, uh, wanna get that?" He said trying to hold back his laughter.

Casey was burning red and seething as she answered. "No it can go to voicemail."

_Derek is so dead when I get home. _She thought.

And a moment later the call went to voicemail and things went back to normal at the tables around them. At Casey and Brandon's table though he was staring at her waiting and to her absolute horror before she could reply the song started back up again. Casey grabbed for the phone as soon as she could to silence it, and just shut it off.

But nothing happened. Frantically she looked at the id and decided to answer it. She smiled sheepishly at Brandon as she flipped open the phone, and turned away from the table. "Der-ek!" She hissed into the phone. "What do you want?!"

A light laughter came from the other end. "Wow Casey that ringback tone is really inappropriate, you should change it before Nora hears it."

She froze. "What ringback? I don't have a ringback… Derek what did you do?"

"I did nothing, but seriously what if Lizzie or Marti were to hear a song about _that_ what would they think?" Casey could see the smirk in her head, and wished she was in range to smack it off.

"Listen Derek, whatever little prank you and probably Edwin are playing, knock it off. Or else!" She slammed the phone shut, furious.

When she turned back to the table Brandon looked amused. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm shutting it off, so we won't have any more rude interruptions." She said hitting the off button. Again though like with the silence button nothing happened, only this time she noticed the screen prompting her for a password. Derek had put a lock on her phone.

"You've got to be kidding me." Casey mumbled, and flipped the phone over to just pull out the battery. Unfortunately Derek had thought of that too. On top of the battery was a small note informing her that the battery was super glued in, not to even bother. "Oh come on!"

"It can't be that bad." Brandon offered across the table.

"Derek changed my ringtones, password and super glued the battery so I couldn't remove it… and you're saying it's not that bad?" Casey couldn't help but glare at the man laughing at her across the table. Figures Brandon would choose his teammate's side. She was finding him less charming by the minute.

…

Back at the Venturi house Derek was widely smirking at how seamlessly his plan was going. "Alright Ed, time for phase two. House phone please."

He held his hand out and Edwin jumped handing him the phone beside him.

This time Casey answered the first time he called. Derek wondered what her face looked like when "Peaches and Cream" started playing. He knew she found that particular song especially explicit.

"You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. I am going to-"

"Yeah, sure I'm scared Case. Listen Nora wanted to know if you could get some milk on your way home. Great, thanks." He threw the words out of his mouth as fast as he could and hit the end button.

Edwin grinned at him and took the house phone from his hand. "Well?"

"She sounds like she wants to skin me alive." Derek said proudly.

"So things are right on track then?" Edwin asked with raised eyebrows.

"Exactly." Derek leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head.

…

Two hours, and three more outrageously inappropriate ringtones later Derek was innocently sitting at his desk when he heard the front door slam closed.

He counted to five before he heard the scream. "DER-EK!!!!"

She didn't wait for him though. This time she was up the stairs and barging into his room before he had time to get up. He glanced up at her.

Casey threw her cell directly at him, hitting him hard in the chest. "Hey!"

"Fix it right now!" She said crossing her arms. "And maybe, just maybe if when I get back its back to normal and you give me the money for all those disgusting things you downloaded I won't tell Mom and George what you did."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Huh?"

Casey was beyond playing his games though as she walked over to him and leaned over till her face was inches from his.

_God, why does she always have to smell so good? _Derek wondered briefly while rolling backwards away from her.

"You ruined what could have been the best date I've ever had with your stupid immature prank." Her eyes were lit up with fire, and Derek had a hard time not laughing at the statement. He figured now might be a good time for the enlightenment portion of the evening.

"Actually I think you should be thanking me."

Casey glared. "Oh I'll thank you…"

Derek readjusted himself back in front of the computer, pushing Casey to the side. "And maybe apologizing to his girlfriend."

That stopped her in her tracks. "What are you talking about? Brandon doesn't have a girlfriend."

Derek nodded his head to the screen which was displaying Brandon's Facebook page. "See for yourself."

Sure enough Brandon's status displayed he was in a relationship with one Libby Peterson. Casey just stared at the screen.

"Maybe next time you should do your research." Derek was smug now seeing her shocked face. He had worn a similar one a few hours ago.

Derek had been friends with Brandon on Facebook for a while, as he was with all his teammates, but never bothered looking at his page until earlier that day when Casey announced she was going out with him. Then when he saw that Brandon was in a relationship with a girl from a different school he knew he had to take action. It was like Scott the scummy soccer coach all over again, but the last thing he needed to do was to alert Edwin that he was looking out for Casey again. So instead he stole Casey's phone while she was getting ready and planned out a prank strategy to end the date as quickly as possible. And much to his satisfaction it had worked.

He watched as the shock in her face turned to anger. "That jerk!"

"How could you let me go out with him knowing that?" She said turning her anger on Derek. His mouth dropped open in confusion and before he could retort she had stormed out of his room.

…

Five minutes later Derek knocked on Casey's door and walked in before she had answered. She was in her pj's on her computer, with her back to him.

"Hey."

She slowly looked over her shoulder and saw him holding up her phone. She cautiously turned in the chair. "Is it back to normal?"

"Yup." He placed the phone on her bed and looked at the floor.

"Hey Derek… thank you for telling me." Her voice was subdued and almost a mumble.

"Sure." His was the same, and when he looked up they shared one of their rare genuine smiles before he turned and left.

…

The next day Casey confronted Brandon at lunch and poured his chocolate pudding down his shirt.

Derek laughed harder than anyone else in the cafeteria.

In fact he couldn't wipe the smile off his face for the rest of the day thinking about the scene and the look on Brandon's face.

That was until later that night after dinner when he realized his phone was missing. When he yelled into the hall to Casey that he wanted his phone back, it wasn't Casey who responded, but Marti.

With a smile and bounce in her step she skipped from her room to Derek's with his phone in her hand. "Here you go Smerek. Casey said you wished your phone was prettier so I shared decorated it for you. Do you like it?"

Derek looked down to his phone and saw it was covered in glittery princess stickers. _Casey!_


	5. Annoying

Disclaimer: I do not own LWD!

I realize this is more of a drabble than a oneshot, and it's completely outside of my normal writing style, but it's where the keyboard led me today. So I hope you all like it, and there's probably more to come later today:)

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**Annoying**

One of these days… I told myself for what had to be the hundredth time.

I never finished the sentence in my mind.

Maybe it was because every time I thought about what one of these days would bring the final picture changed.

One of these days Derek will grow up and stop pulling pranks. (Like the dead fish that was currently stuffed into my pillowcase.)

One of these days I'll get him back so bad he'll never want to retaliate.

One of these days Derek will stop being so annoying.

One of these days maybe we can get along.

One of these days Derek will stop being such a cereal dater.

One of these days I'll learn to stop caring what Derek does.

One of these days Derek will catch on to why it all bothers me so much.

One of these days Derek will see right through this façade.

One of these days I'm going to admit to it myself.

One of these days I'm going to kiss that smirk right off his face.

Maybe, one of these days I'll trust him with my heart.

And maybe, just maybe, one of these days he'll love me back.

But until any of that happens, this will have to do. "Der-ek!"


	6. Pink and Tears

Disclaimer: I do not own LWD.

As mentioned one sad oneshot. Hope it isn't too depressing, but will warn I got a bit teary eyed writing this at one point!

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**Pink and Tears**

The sky was uncharacteristically dark, and the rain coming down in more of a waterfall than a shower. I could barely hear anything over the noise of it on my umbrella. I was grateful that I didn't have to listen to the words, and that my vision into that perfectly rectangular whole was blurred. Because honestly I didn't know if I was ready to accept the clarity of it all yet, or if I ever would.

The one thing I couldn't blur out were the soft sobs beside me, or the salty moisture gathering on my shoulder that had nothing to do with the rain. I tightened my grip around the crying figure pulling her closer. Normally I wouldn't be comfortable with this, but there was nothing normal about this.

I didn't want to think about how she felt anymore. The pain I had seen in her already was something I wished I could erase from my memory.

Thunder began to rumble from somewhere close by, and from the corner of my eye I saw several people fidgeting uncomfortably. But the five figures around me stayed solid in their stance as did I. None of us ready to let go.

I looked over to my left, over the figure clinging to me. My dad was the first person who caught my eye. It was clear he was broken by his eyes, but no tears fell as he stared hard ahead. Wrapped around him at the waist was my sister Marti, she had her head buried into his side. I couldn't see her face, but I knew there were tears there, as there had been for the past week. She was just old enough to understand what this all meant, but hardly mature enough to cope.

To my right stood two more desolate figures. They stood together under a large umbrella without touching one another. In the arms of the young girl was a white bundle she held close to her shoulder and was whispering teary soothing words to. He was quite though, almost as though he understood the sullen need for it at even a week old.

Holding the umbrella and crying in a way I would never allow myself to was Edwin. This was the first time I had seen of him in nearly four days. He had kept himself locked away in that attic and the hollow bags under his eyes told me he hadn't been sleeping.

Not that I was one to talk, my nights had been spent in a similar way. Though with slightly less solidarity, as I was somehow given the job of keeping together the girl who was currently unraveling beside me.

The first night was the worst.

The morning it had happened she didn't cry. She was the only one who hadn't.

When George came through the double doors to meet us, all excitedly waiting on our feet for news on the delivery, I knew right away. He looked as though he had been robbed and beaten as he asked Marti go get a candy from the vending machine so he could talk to us.

He began to cry when she left the room; it was the first time I had ever seen my father cry. As he began relating in a broken voice what happened Lizzie began to cry too and said she didn't want to hear anymore as she threw herself into my father's arms. Edwin walked over and silently joined in, tears pouring down his face.

I felt like crying, but wasn't sure what to do. I looked to Casey, but she didn't see me, I wasn't sure if she saw anything. George was talking to her, but she wasn't listening.

She just sat stunned in that hospital chair, unable to speak or move at first for almost an hour. I watched her warily expecting that at any moment she would move from stage one of grief directly into hysterical crying. But it never happened.

Instead she quietly got up and placed her arms around me, and I realized it was just us left in the waiting room and that I was the one hysterically crying. It was so wrong, but she began comforting me.

That night she turned into almost a robot, taking care of everything that George couldn't in the messy state he was left in. Putting Marti to bed, holding Lizzie through her tearful fits, making phone calls, cooking and forcing everyone to eat.

It had been Casey who arranged everything. And it had been Casey who had worked so hard to hold everyone together. Even caring for their newest brother Colin, who seemed so unaware at what cost he had come into this world days before.

But late at night, when everyone including Colin had fallen asleep my door opened. I didn't have to turn my light on to know who it was quietly climbing into my bed, or to recognize the arms that clung to me that night. She still refused to cry, and neither of us slept that night as I held her to me running my hands through her hair that was just below my chin.

It was the first time I had ever allowed her to touch me like this, and through the grief I felt, I found my body reveling in being able to finally hold her to me.

That night we talked in an unguarded way we never had before. She told me she was leaving Queens that night that the family needs her too much here. It only took me a minute to decide and tell her I was doing the same. She may not have known it, but I knew it was her that needed me there. I told her it was only temporary, that when the time was right I was going back and taking her with me. Neither of us laughed.

I began crying again, and it was her hands in my hair then, her fingers stroking away the tears from my cheek. We stayed that way until the baby monitor she had placed on my desk signaled Colin had woken up shortly after.

Each night after passed the same way in the fleeting hours between Colin's feeding. Some nights I would join Casey, or take care of him myself. But other nights I couldn't face that perfect face that looked so much like his mothers, and wondered how Casey could with the tenderness that she did.

Then last night my Dad had thanked Casey and said he was ready to. I thought it would be a relief, but instead that night when she slipped into my room without the baby monitor something was different. She hovered standing beside the bed as she whispered my name. "Derek?"

"Yeah?" I asked sitting up.

"I don't' think I can do it anymore." Her voice was low and desperate. I reached for her hand, slightly scared.

"Do what Casey?" Her hand was limp in mine as I rubbed circles with my thumb.

"I can't…" Her voice cracked, and I found myself leaping out of bed and pulling her into my arms. "I can't do it. I ne-nn-need her."

I let out a breath I had been holding all week as she slumped into me, tears falling down my shirt. I began rubbing her back. "We all do."

She looked up to me, and even in the dark I could see her wet face. "I can't make this better, I can't help."

She was shaking, and I found myself crying too. I held her to me tighter. "Casey, you can't fix this all on your own, or all at once. No one expects that of you. We're all going to be broken for a while I think. But eventually, it'll be okay again."

Her eyes looked up into mine and she was gasping for air. "I miss her so much."

"I know." I kissed her hair, laying us down in the bed. That night in my arms we both cried openly, until we had no more tears left. For the first time all week we both slept, and when I woke up this morning I felt like my words I told her last night might have had some truth in them.

As I looked at the coffin covered in vibrant pink roses before me, I promised Nora I would do my best to make those words come true. I would do all I could to keep my family together and someday things would be okay. That would be what she would want, and it would be my final favor to her.


	7. Moon, Fish, Window, Scream, Zoo and Ring

Disclaimer: I do not own LWD!

I just wanted to start out by apologizing for the massive typos that are probably in this, and most of my other stories. A lot of my stuff has typos in it because I tend to be a fast writer. If I get a story idea I like to get it out as fast as possible before I forget. That mixed with my tendency to write into the wee hours of the morning results in overall messiness. So my bad, and if you see one let me know, I'll try to fix it!

* * *

**Moon, Fish, Window, Scream, Zoo and Ring **

_Dear Diary,_

_He proposed!_

_It was everything I had hoped for, and things I never knew to even expect._

_This afternoon I received a dozen red roses at the office, with a love note and invitation for tonight. It hinted towards the formal. I found it very mature that even in his mystery he appreciated my need to be prepared._

_Dinner at Chez de la Blanche was the prelude to our evening. A four course meal that satiated the palate with exactly the right portions. The duck l'orange and crème Brule were absolute perfection. There had even been a violin serenade during dessert._

_Afterwards he took me dancing. Not clubbing, or anything like that, but real old fashion dancing. The kind that I thought only existed in old movies. It was this very posh little place with an outdoor patio for dancing, that overlooked a moonlit lake. The music was live, soft and beautiful. And lights were twinkling in the trees as we sipped champagne and swayed under the full moon._

_As the moon began it's decent on the evening, he pulled me towards an empty overlook of the lake and kneeled down. In his hand was an open box revealing one of the largest single diamonds I have ever seen in real life attached to a platinum ring. I was so mesmerized by it that I admittedly missed the beginning of his proposal._

_But the part I did hear, was so amazingly sweet. He said, "Casey McDonald, you are the most beautiful, talented amazing woman I've ever met. Will you marry me?"_

_Of course I said yes, as he placed the ring on my finger and stood up to chastely kiss me. A small crowd of people applauded, and a very sweet elderly couple bought us a bottle of champagne to toast to young love._

_It was wonderful. Though I have to share a small secret that I can't tell anyone… as perfect as it was, there was something missing._

_Now I know this is ridiculous, but he didn't say once tonight that he loved me. Of course his actions spoke it loud enough, and he did everything right. Even still, there is a small part of me, silly as it is, that wonders why he did not. And even more so… why didn't I?_

_I'm sure it doesn't matter; it's just a minor case of early cold feet and nerves. What really matters is I am getting married!!!_

_~Casey_

…

"Let me get this straight, you're going to be Casey Tracey?" The question was rhetorical and Derek kneeled over in laughter.

Casey lifted her chin as though she was too dignified and mature to allow Derek to bait her. "Yes, though I have been considering hyphenating it to McDonald-Tracey. But isn't it wonderful?"

Of course Nora thought it was, as she ran around the island in the kitchen wrapping her arms around her oldest daughter. "Oh Casey, this is so exciting!"

Derek rolled his eyes from his place at the island eating breakfast.

Just then Lizzie and Edwin walked in, a 14 year old Marti behind them. "What's exciting?" Lizzie asked.

Casey twirled to them holding her hand up so they could see the ring. "Devin and I are getting married!"

Lizzie and Marti squealed, and ran over to jump up and down with Casey.

"Why do you girls always have to do that? One of these days I'm going to lose an eardrum." Derek stated, getting a laugh from Edwin and the expected glare from the females around him.

"What's all the yelling about?" George asked coming in from the backyard with Rory, the youngest Venturi attached to him piggyback style. Her small face lit up when she saw who was in the kitchen. "Casey!"

Riley quickly scrambled down and jumped up into the arms of her sister. "I've missed you! You haven't been here all week."

Casey automatically felt bad. "I'm sorry Rory work's been busy. But I'm here this morning because have big news."

"Oh?" George asked coming up behind his wife to the gathering in the middle of the kitchen.

"Casey's getting hitched." Derek said through a mouthful of cocoa puffs.

"Der-ek!" Casey said, ignoring her 'maturity' as she shoved him, causing some milk to spurt out of his mouth.

"Hey, that hurt!" Derek said rubbing his 'injury' as George came around to hug and congratulate Casey.

"What are you getting hitched to?" Rory innocently asked.

"To Devin." Casey responded, to which Rory just looked confused.

"That means that Casey and Devin are getting married." Lizzie told her naïve sister.

That perked her up considerably. With a toothy smile that was all Venturi she turned to Casey. "Can I be your flower girl?"

"I couldn't have a wedding unless you were!" Casey said, leaning in to tickle Rory's side.

"Yes! This is so awesome." Rory said between giggles.

"Yeah, just think of all the gifts and money you're going to get." Edwin interjected, which got an elbow thrown at him from Lizzie.

Casey smiled, grateful it was summer and Lizzie and Edwin were back from college. Telling Lizzie over the phone just wouldn't have been the same. She was glad she got to see everyone's reactions in person, and know they were all as excited as she was. Well everyone minus Derek, she wasn't sure what she had expected his reaction to be.

As if he had read her mind, Derek stood and dropped his empty bowl in the sink. "Alright this is all the feel good family time I can take today. Later."

Nora stopped him before he reached the door. "You're coming to dinner tonight right?"

"I dunno Nora." Behind her he saw Rory's face fall. "Probably."

"Oh Derek, you'll finally get a chance to meet Devin!" Casey threw in.

Derek faked a squeal and flared his hands. "Oh my God, really?"

Casey rolled her eyes, and shook her head, thinking about how little Derek had changed. As the door closed behind him she briefly wondered how it was that Derek was the only one in her oversized family who hadn't met Devin. And if Derek would like Devin. _Not like that should matter though._

…

Derek didn't like Devin from the second he walked in and saw him sitting at his seat at the dinner table. He was stuffy, a bit snobby and overall a cold fish.

"Devin this is Derek." Casey motioned as Devin stood to great the newcomer.

"Charmed, you're in my seat." Derek said shaking Devin's hand with a bit more of a grip than may have been called for.

George shot Derek a warning glance. "Derek, don't be rude. Can't you take the spare seat tonight?"

Derek may have been a grown up, but he was about to take a full on temper tantrum. _That_ had always been _his_ seat, the best position for staring down enemy number one at the table. From the corner seat next to Rory he could hardly see Casey, let alone properly push her buttons.

"Sure thing Dad." Derek gruffly sat down and did his best not to glare at Devin, who was perfectly in his range of sight.

"So Derek we were just talking about Devin's latest project." Nora began, always the peacemaker. "He's working with his father on a new ad campaign for Apple."

"Red delicious or green? Man I hope it's not crap apples… I hate those." Derek replied, with a joking smirk.

Devin looked uncomfortable, and pretended as though he didn't even hear Derek's remark. "Actually Mrs. Venturi, our project isn't quite that expansive or impressive. We are merely working on developing a marketing plan for the new iPod. Though our company is in charge of hiring a staff for the ad campaign, we have no actual involvement in the creative aspect of the ads you see. We are the research, development and distribution I suppose you could say of those ads. My personal attribution to the project is targeting potential consumers and markets."

An awkward moment fell over the table as everyone took in the mouthful Devin had just spoken. Casey was beaming at her educated, successful fiancé. And Derek was looking more irritated with him by the minute.

"Fascinating." The word out of Derek's mouth was dripping with so much sarcasm, that George choked on his mashed potatoes in surprise.

Casey stood from the table and rounded her way to Derek. "Devin would you excuse us for just one minute?"

She smiled politely at the table before grabbing the sleeve of Derek's arm and dragging him into the kitchen. She closed the sliding doors behind them, and pulled him over to the laundry room where she was sure no one would hear.

"Der-ek! What is your problem? You're acting like a two year old!" She hissed in a whisper.

Derek leaned casually against the washing machine. "At least I'm not a complete tool. Don't you think this guy is a little much, even for you?"

Casey narrowed her eyes. "You have no idea who he is Derek, you've known him for what five minutes?"

"I knew I didn't like you in less than five minutes and that judgment's still holding true." He retorted.

She raised her eyebrows and folded her arms. "When are you going to realize we're not still fifteen? You can't do this anymore."

Derek wasn't sure what she meant, so he didn't answer.

Casey took that a sign of him giving in a little. "Can you try to be nice to him, please? He's here to stay Derek."

Something about what Casey had just said brought out anger in Derek. "Yeah we'll see how long that lasts."

Like a light switch Casey was flipped off. "Are you trying to imply that my marriage isn't going to work?"

"I'm just saying after a little while of being kept up all night with your snoring, and seeing your face every morning he's going to get sick of you. Any sane man would." Derek knew the line was there when he crossed it and lied, but he was mad enough not to care.

"At least I'm grown up enough to be able to make a commitment in my life!"

"I make commitments. I've been committed to that spot at the table for nearly ten years, and then your precious Devin thinks he can just waltz in and take it. Because that's the kind of guy I see sitting out there Case, a rich jerk who thinks he can take whatever he wants. But he can't!" Derek hoped Casey didn't realize it wasn't about the chair anymore.

Casey stepped up till their noses were almost touching. She knew exactly what his words had meant, and they had set a fire ablaze behind her blue eyes. "You have no real claim over it. So Devin had every right to sit there. And frankly you got what you deserved for being so damn late."

They stared at each other a minute, before Casey huffed and turned away. "Give him a chance."

She was walking away when he grabbed her arm and turned her back around. "You're wrong; I have a claim to that chair. I have a history with it, as rocky as it may be. Devin doesn't even really know that chair; he just thought it was a nice place to sit. I love that chair, and I don't think he does. So you see I should be the only one allowed to sit there."

This time it was Derek who walked away, leaving Casey standing stunned in the aftermath of his words. She held a hand to her heart that was beating at a rapid speed. In the other room she heard the sliders fly open, and Derek throwing out an excuse about not feeling well. The slamming of the front door followed.

Casey was still slightly shocked as she made her way back to the dinning room where her fiancé was smiling up at her from Derek's chair.

…

Three weeks later the Venturi McDonalds were sitting around the dining room table again, when Derek burst through the front door. He had avoided these dinners up until this night, when he figured it he couldn't stay away forever.

Considering he told his engaged step-sister he loved her last time, he was fairly calm. So long as you didn't count the stop he made on the way to clear out his stomach of nerves, and his lunch.

No one had expected him to show up, so everyone around the table actually jumped a bit when he dramatically flung the door open.

"Is that you Derek, it's been so long I was starting to forget what you looked like." George joked to no laughter aside from Nora's.

"Old age will do that to you." Edwin piped in before Derek could. George gave him a patronizing look.

Derek made his way to the table, and put his hand onto the back of his empty chair. There was a growing smirk on his face as he slid into his claimed spot. "Devin too busy working on his big campaign?"

To his surprise everyone at the table turned to glare at him, aside from Casey who was staring at her salad as if it were the most important thing in the world. "What?"

"You should have listened to my voicemails Smerek." Marti mumbled at him.

"Casey and Devin broke up last week." Lizzie informed Derek. Derek couldn't believe how much better the night kept getting.

"Oh." He shot at Casey as she finally looked up at him. She looked nervous. He felt nervous. So he did what he did best in nervous situations. "I guess he was smarter than I gave him credit for if he had sense enough not to marry you."

He heard the chorus of voices around the table scolding him. Across from him Casey just glared. But things felt somewhat normal.

After dinner Casey had offered to spend the night with Rory and Marti so Nora and George could go see a movie with Lizzie and Edwin. Derek hadn't made any notion that said he wanted to be involved in either, but didn't leave when everyone else did. Instead he stayed firmly planted in his old recliner watching hockey.

Marti was upstairs in her room, and Rory was fast asleep on the couch already despite her claims to stay up till midnight. Casey was washing dishes in the kitchen, fully aware that Derek was still there and they were relatively alone.

She had just toweled off the last dish when Derek walked in.

"So what happened?" He couldn't hold off his real curiosity any longer.

"I don't want to talk about it." Casey said shutting off the main kitchen light and walking over the island. "But you'll be happy to know that you were right."

"He heard you snoring?" Derek made a pained face.

"No about the chair." Casey said tentatively as she walked around the island to stand in front of him. "It belongs more to you than it ever has to anyone else."

Derek stared into her eyes, trying to figure out what all of this meant. She decided to clarify it a little for him. "In fact, I'm pretty damn sure that chair loves you as much as you love it."

Derek lifted a hand to her hair. "I don't know about that… I'm pretty freaking head over heels for that stupid uptight chair. And you were right too, it took me way too long to tell you- I mean it."

Casey smiled. "Better late than never."

Derek leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I love you Spacey."

"Prove it." She said in a voice mixed with dare and want.

Derek didn't have to be told twice as he kissed her with all passion he had in him, causing her to arch her back into him and softly moan between their lips.

When he pulled back to look into her eyes, they were both gasping and grinning wildly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that." Casey panted out.

Derek happily leaned in again, willing to repeat himself as many times as she needed to get it.

…

_Dear Diary,_

_I am so filled to the brim with happiness that I am quite sure that I will explode at any minute now!_

_He proposed, and it was really perfect. Even if he did leave the all the dirty work to a six year old._

_We brought Rory to the zoo today. The entire time she had been begging to see the pariahs. Figures I have the sister who takes no interest in elephants and tigers, but wants to see what Derek had told her were man eating fish._

_When we walked into the fish house he looked like he was going to be sick. I told him not to be scared that the man eating fish wouldn't be able to get him. He laughed and grabbed Rory's hand pulling her aside to show her the pariahs._

_Rory was grinning like she had a secret when they met me at the beautiful jellyfish tank, and he looked green in the pink glow off the tank. Before I could ask what they were up to Rory asked me if she could be my flower girl. I was confused as to why she would ask that again, and then she told me that Derek already said it was okay. When I looked over to him, he was bending down and holding out a ring. I recognized it instantly as my grandmother's I had admired as a young girl, and gasped._

_"I want to spend every night listening to you snore, wake up to your face that I'm so crazy about, and stake a forever permanent claim on that dinning room chair that I love so much. What do you say?" His voice was shaking at the end. I looked at him seriously for a minute, to rile him up for a change. Rory spoke up from beside me. "You're supposed to say yes."_

_I thought I saw him let out a held breath when I screamed yes._

_Rory was doing the squealing thing that drives Derek crazy while jumping up and down. Everyone else in the room was cheering._

_With the ring firmly on my finger, Derek spun me around in circles before placing me on the floor and kissing me. It was a kiss full of promise and commitment, with nothing chaste about it._

_Derek is laying beside me now as he does most every night. Tonight neither of us can wipe the stupid grins off our faces, though right now he appears to be getting irritated at how long it's taking me to finish this entry. It's his own evil fault though for trying to distract me while I write._

_So I must say goodnight before he throws this diary out the window._

_~The Future Mrs. Venturi_


	8. Snow White & Sanity

**Snow White and Sanity**

_This takes place during the first winter break. Derek has gone off to Queens and Casey has instead gone off to a dance school. This is the first time they are back in the house at the same time… Enjoy!_

She stared at the door in front of her as she had so many times before. The only difference this time was that she didn't know what to expect on the other side. Or more to the point, who to expect.

It had been three months since she had last seen him. Only three months. Three agonizing, amazing, torturous months had passed between them. Three months could change a person. Three months had changed her, changed her feelings in a way that made her hand hesitate over the doorknob.

The floor on the other side of the door creaked and the door swung open revealing him standing there an amused look on his face. "Who are you?"

"Funny." She retorted, but the sarcasm was lacking.

He went on as if he didn't notice. "Oh wait I think I remember you… Snow White's ugly step-sister right?"

Three months ago she would have had a sharp witted retort. Now the insult felt like an old friend she had missed. Without warning her arms reached out and enclosed around him.

He didn't have a chance to be awkward about it since it was so brief, or to push her off pretending he was disgusted.

When his eyes met her blue eyes, he saw a sparkle igniting that a moment ago hadn't been there. He smiled, running a suddenly nervous hand through his hair.

He had seen this girl many times before, but she felt brand new standing in front of his bedroom door, and he wondered if it would ever be like it was again. She laughed at the silence so unlike them. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Sorry I was trying to swallow back the vomit that rose when you touched me." He smirked leaning against the frame, arms folding across his chest.

"Glad to see you matured since the last time I saw you." She said rolling her eyes.

"And I'm glad to see that stick is still firmly up your-"

"Der-ek!"

"What?" He laughed shrugging his shoulders.

"Ugh, to think I actually thought I missed _you_." She mumbled with a look of disgust on her face before turning away.

He faltered at that. "What now?"

"Nothing, lapse in sanity." She replied as she walked into her room, firmly closing the door behind her.

Derek watched the door for a moment before turning back into his own bedroom.

He walked directly over to his stereo and proceeded to turn the volume dial up way past capacity. Then laid down on his bed waiting for the inevitable reaction and riled up girl he had missed so much himself.


	9. Bugs, Camp & Camcorders

**Bugs, Camp & Camcorders**

I rolled over and looked at the buzzing clock beside my bed in surprise that it had been the alarm that woke me this morning and not-

"Der-ek!" A scream interrupted my thoughts. He had moved up the time to throw her off today.

Still nestled under the covers in my tiny room I listened to her stomp over to the room beside hers throwing open the door, and then slamming it shut behind her. Not that it mattered; the closed door barely muffled the screaming.

Rolling my eyes I pulled the pillow up around my ears, attempting to drown them out.

This was day five in the bug prank.

The first day was sort of humorous, and almost worth the hour of sleep we all missed when Casey woke up screaming at 5am- almost. But now I just feel bad for my sister, I really do. Waking up with a bug in your mouth is disgusting. Trust me on this one, after a summer at camp Wompawamak I would know.

So naturally when my big sis came to me for help I was willing to do whatever she needed… like I'm ever not.

The plan was simple. Derek was avoiding punishment due to a lack of evidence against him. There was no real way to prove he, or anyone else was deliberately putting dead moths, spiders or whatever else they could find in her mouth.

(Derek was insistent the bugs were living inside her and crawling out at night when she fell asleep. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but that didn't stop Casey from keeping me up two nights in a row to watch when she fell asleep. Even though I had Googled it and proved it completely impossible, but what do I know?)

So that night I told Casey I had an idea on how to catch him red handed and end the bug buffet. I would handle it; all she would have to do was go to sleep just like every other night. I never got how even when it was her problem I was the only one who lost sleep over things… and I really needed sleep at this point.

At quarter to 5 I snuck into Casey's room and slipped into her closet flicking the family camcorder to night mode. Uncomfortably seated in the tight space between clothing I waited.

Ten minutes later Casey was snoring away when her door creaked open revealing the prime suspect himself sneaking in armed with a small plastic bag.

I poised the camera and held my breath, waiting to catch him in action.

Instead he sat down in the chair beside her bed and just stared at her. At first I was sure he was plotting something, and then as the sun rose I could more clearly make out his face. There was a serious expression so out of place as he watched my sister sleeping.

It was then that it hit me. This wasn't about the sick thrill of putting bugs in Casey's mouth. It was about finding a reason to be here, around her, everything he did was about that. I nearly let out a gasp with the realization of what my crazy older sister really meant to my obnoxious step-brother.

I don't know how long he stayed there like that, other than it was long enough for my legs to completely fall asleep. Just when I thought I was going to fall out of the closet he stood and walked over to the bed, extracting what looked like a big black beetle. With a smirk he dropped it gently onto the side of her mouth and left.

When I was sure he was back in his room I left as fast as I could before she woke up. The moment my door closed I heard her scream and I hurriedly deleted the file from the camcorder.

That morning I found Casey in the kitchen sourly stirring brown sugar into a bowl of raisin oatmeal. She perked up when she saw me enter the room. I smiled weakly at her expectant look.

"So what happened, did you catch him in the act?" She asked excitedly.

"You're not going to like this." I said as I caught sight of Derek standing by the door behind Casey, his eyes made contact with mine and I knew he knew what I had seen. He looked as though he was going to be sick, but he made no motion to move or say anything.

"Derek never came into your room." I lied as best as I could.

"What?" She looked horrified.

"I didn't see him, but I did see a beetle crawl into your mouth. Sorry Case." I looked away from her suspicious glare.

"Told you it wasn't me, they're coming out of your ears." Derek laughed, grabbing the uneaten oatmeal away from Casey and spitting on it before she could grab it back.

"Hey I was about to eat that!"

With a mouthful of oatmeal Derek answered her sending bits of it flying. "Don't be selfish Casey you already had your daily bug breakfast."

When she walked over to the fridge Derek looked up at me. He didn't say it, but in his eyes I knew he was thankful, and he knew by mine that his secret was safe with me.

"Actually Derek, the only one enjoying the bug breakfast special this morning is you." Casey said slyly as she poured a bowl of cereal next to me.

Derek looked up with a mouthful of food and a concerned look on his face.

"We don't have any raisin oatmeal in the house." She said laughing, and I joined her as I caught on. Across the island Derek was turning green.

In perfect timing, and oblivious to the situation Edwin stormed in. "What have you done with my ant farm Derek!"


	10. Dolls & Peepholes

**Dolls & Peepholes**

Through the peephole he was standing there with washed out flowers looking like a drowned rat. She couldn't decide who looked more defeated, him or the droopy daisies hanging from his hand.

It must have been the sad daisies that got to her, because she opened the door.

His smirk dominated over the puppy dog eyes the second he crossed the threshold and grabbed her.

"You need to apologize to me." She demanded, pushing both her palms against his chest.

He leaned into her ear. "I really am sorry you loved that porcelain catastrophe so much."

"That wasn't what I meant." Her hand slapped hard against his chest – he ignored it.

He tilted his head towards her pulled away one, letting his lips hover over hers. He heard her breathing hitch as it always did when they got this close.

He was going to make her sorry for locking him out in that downpour.

"It was ugly, and I am not going to feel sorry for breaking it. But… I will apologize for this…" He let his voice trail off as their lips grazed one another and her eyes closed. She had fallen for it.

Quickly reaching behind her while she was distracted he grabbed the final remaining porcelain doll from their mantel.

She groaned in complaint when he pulled away, then yelled when she opened her eyes. "Damn it, put that back!"

He knew this game well enough, and it would take more than that.

Putting it up in the air and out of her reach he spoke. "Not until the signed Gretzky photo goes back up!"

She stopped jumping at his hand and rolled her eyes. "No way, that was tacky."

He laughed and shook the doll in the air. "And this isn't?"

"No, that's art." She folded her arms.

"Whatever, either the great one gets his place back or the doll gets it." He pretended to throw the figurine and she screamed.

"Fine!" In the blink of an eye she was gone and back again with the signed photo in her hand.

"On three…" She said hovering the photo over the mantel.

"… Two … Three" Both items were placed on either end of the mantel and they both let out a sigh of relief looking at one another.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Jerk."

He reflected the look and took the first step forward. "Loser."

"Idiot." Step.

"Prude." Step.

They were inches apart. "I really hate you sometimes." She said with a smirk she had stolen from him a long time ago.

His voice answered in a whisper. "Oh trust me, I hate you way more."

"Good."

Great."

And then she kissed him.


	11. Nature, Parquet & Stars

This is a oneshot based off of Pink's 'Glitter in the Air'.

* * *

**Nature, Parquet & Stars**

**Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?  
Close your eyes and trust it, just trust it  
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?  
Have you ever looked fear in the face  
And said I just don't care?**

Leaps of faith were not her thing. Failing to plan was planning to fail after all. So when he asked her to trust him, she should have said no. It was not in her nature to do this sort of thing. But that was just the thing about him; she didn't have a nature when she was around him. More often it was more like natural disasters than anything with them. Still somehow she never said no when he really asked. How could she?

**It's only half past the point of no return**  
**The tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn**  
**The thunder before lightning, the breath before the phrase**  
**Have you ever felt this way?**

They were on new grounds here. Standing on the very point of change and capable of falling off at any moment now. Scared they held onto one another, anchoring each other to reality while at the same instance preparing to jump into the insanity of it all together. She should have been terrified, if it were with anyone else she may have been.

**Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?**  
**Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone**  
**Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?**  
**Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?**

The minutes had crept into hours and faded black to days till it had been a week that she could recall his embrace. The world began to revolve around every ring of the phone, the only gap of the distance now between them. The only connection to him, his voice embracing her in the void of his touch. She longed so for his touch that when their reunion came upon them his soft fingers were met with tears of joy. He held back his own, pulling her off her feet and in through the door.

**It's only half past the point of oblivion**  
**The hourglass on the table, the walk before the run**  
**The breath before the kiss and the fear before the flames**  
**Have you ever felt this way**

**La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la**

**There you are, sitting in the garden**  
**Clutching my coffee, calling me sugar**  
**You called me sugar**

In the course of this pass in their lives things have changed. He was so adult under his shaggy hair aglow in the sunlight of the garden. She paused briefly watching him wondering who he was, so full of surprise as he regarded her with words of endearment. She smiled into the thought of having a lifetime to unravel his mystery.

**Have you ever wished for an endless night?**  
**Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight**  
**Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself**  
**Will it ever get better than tonight? Tonight.**

She compared them to the fiery burning stars in the sky that loomed above them on that special night. Entangled in his arms she whispered through blushed cheeks that she would love him until the day they all dimmed away. The stars above them and the crowd around them appeared to swirl with them as they glided over the parquet, the crystals on her white gown dull when you saw the sparkle in their eyes. A fleeting star passed in the sky, and with a gentle kiss they wished together for the night to never end.


	12. Big Words & Contracts

**Big Words & Contracts**

Sigh.

He kept going about watching hockey.

Louder Sigh.

He raised the volume without turning away.

Smack!

A tightly rolled sock hit the side of his head.

"What is your problem?" He asked the girl folding laundry on the couch next to him.

"I don't really want to talk with you about it."

He looked back to the t.v.

"But since you asked, and you're the only one home…" She pushing the laundry basket aside.

This time he sighed realizing he should have never taken the bait.

"As you know the show did very well. In fact did I tell you we even received nearly a full page review in the Times? The reporter said I was-"

"Yes, four times. Now can you get to the point before the last quarter starts?" He asked motioning to the now muted game in front of them.

She rolled her eyes. "Well I just got a call from Mr. Bernard offering me an extension on my contract… for another year."

She paused for a response, but continued when all she received was a blank stare. "If I took it I'd have to defer for another year, and I've already missed a year. What If I lose my spot at Queens and never get it back? What I get too old to go and have the college experience? But on the other hand what if I stay with the show and I land an ever bigger job? It could be my big break! But is that worth sacrificing my education? What should I do?"

She was panting by the time he finished and he was leaning away from her in his chair afraid she may combust at any moment. "Has it ever occurred to you that you need to stop ruminating stuff so much?"

Now she had the blank expression. "I thought you outgrew making up words Derek."

He smiled smugly. "Okay first, I'll never outgrow making up awesome words. Need I remind you of the awesomeness of Derekus? And second ruminating is a real word, I learned it in my lit class, it means overanalyzing. So quit ruminating so I can go back to watching my game."

Her face paled."Oh God, it's happening."

"What's happening?"

She motioned between them. "This! You've been at Queens getting smarter while I'm in New York dancing my knowledge away!"

Before he could respond she flew off the couch and up the stairs, panic struck look on her face.

From his place in the chair Derek saw were this was going and an evil smirk formed as he came up with a plan.

…

The next morning…

"Could you please pass the milk Liz?"

Derek walked up behind her quietly in the kitchen. "Don't you mean would?"

She laughed nervously. "That's what I said- would. So would you please pass the milk Liz?"

He shook his head. "No you didn't, did she Liz?"

Lizzie looked at them in amusement and shook her head no.

Casey stood from the island. "On second thought, I'm not that hungry."

Derek smirked as she fled the room once more.

"What was that about?" Liz asked.

Derek reached for the bowl of cereal Casey had left behind and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Don't care."

…

The rest of the day Derek spend looking up words online no normal person would ever know and finding ways to casually slip them into conversation with Casey.

To Casey's great displeasure they were all real (she Googled every one) and none she knew.

By bedtime she had had it.

He spoke loudly on his way to the bathroom. "Man am I enervated!"

She bolted from her computer chair into the hallway in time to cut him off at the bathroom door.

"Enervated: to be or feel drained of energy! Ha!" She yelled in his face while poking his chest.

He looked at her like she was crazy; secretly surprised it had taken so long for her to know one of the words. "Thanks captain crazy, but I already knew that. Quit being so obstreperous, people are sleeping."

The gloating smile was wiped off her face. She stomped away and slammed her door closed.

Derek smiled confidently."It shouldn't be long now."

The following day Casey called a family meeting and announced she would be turning down the contract and instead going to Queens.

Derek was the first to respond. "Keen move keener."

She rolled her eyes. "I dunno Der, seems like lately the only keener around here is you. How do you spell photosynthesis again?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "If you really want to know, ask Google. It worked for me."

A light snapped on in Casey's head. "Vous êtes tellement morts."

Chuckling he asked. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't speak loser."

Slowly walking across the room Casey answered. "Oh don't worry I'll show you."

Ed turned to Liz. "What did she say?"

Lizzie laughed. "I believe it was French for run."

Derek heard her made for the stairs; Casey's hot on his tails. "Der-ek!"


End file.
